At least 77 West Boca taxpayers scammed on income tax returns

December 19, 2012|Marci Shatzman mshatzman@tribune.com

Federal taxpayers in West Boca have made at least 77 complaints since January about suspects who filed bogus income returns in their name for 2011, causing the Internal Revenue Service to reject their returns.

Complaints about identity theft refund fraud have been compiled by the West Boca Forum after they were filed with Palm Beach County Sheriff's Office District 7. Taxpayers who filed the complaints only live in unincorporated Boca Raton, not the city. The newspaper no longer has access to all criminal complaints filed, so it's possible even more cases have come up since the procedure changed.

Most victims found out when they filed their return or were notified by their accountant or the firm they used to file income taxes for 2011. Most taxpayers affected filed electronically, according to the complaints.

The complaints also included co-opted Social Security numbers for other family members, including spouses, parents and grown children. In one case, an $8,000 return is under criminal investigation when it wasn't sent to the real taxpayer.

There's not much PBSO can do about this crime, said Lt. Todd Baer of District 7. "The person will usually come in and we give them a Federal Trade Commission form to fill out and assign them a fraud case number and do a report," he said.

The perpetrators could be anywhere, he said. So unless PBSO can investigate a case locally and make an arrest, they can't follow up, Baer said. "The suspects could be your neighbors or in some foreign country. We find both," he said.

Taxpayers are on their own after that. "We explain that thoroughly and the FTC form is self-explanatory," Baer said. "We classify the cases as frauds and they have to take the next step unless we have a suspect."

Tax season January through mid-April is the prime time for complaints, and then they slow down, he said. "They want to get you before you file."

PBSO is advising taxpayers to pay "as early as you're allowed. You're beating them to the punch," Baer said. He also advises taxpayers never to answer an IRS email or request for personal information and to "buy a really good shredder."

The IRS referred questions on the issue to testimony given by Beth Tucker, deputy commissioner for operation support for the IRS before the U.S. House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform on Nov. 29.

"Over the past few years, the IRS has seen a significant increase in refund fraud schemes, particularly schemes involving identity theft," she said. "Identity theft – and the harm it inflicts on innocent taxpayers – is a problem that we take very seriously. We have a comprehensive identity theft strategy focusing on both fraud prevention and victim assistance.

"The IRS is working to speed up and further streamline identity theft case resolution so that innocent taxpayers will experience as little inconvenience as possible," she added. "We have committed more staff to work identity theft cases, and substantially increased training for employees who assist victims."

Here's the link on the IRS.gov website to Tucker's testimony: irs.gov/uac/Static/Testimony-before-the-House-Committee-on-Oversight-and-Government-Reform.